Whenever anybody mentions Southampton I always fondly remember my great uncle Guillaume Le Wibblette who lived for many years in the Polygon area of the city.
As you can probably tell by his name, he originated in the Channel Islands so there is a little French influence there. He always realised that his future lay away from the small islands so set sail for Southampton dock as soon as he was of legal age.
The attraction to Southampton arose not only for the sheer delight he felt when Bobby Stokes slammed in the winner at Wembley against some bang average provincial side (their name escapes me right now) to lift the FA Cup way back in 1976, but also for his disdain for all things French. He rather liked washing, didn't like garlic, would rather poke himself in the eye with a sharp stick than eat snails and could never really get the hang of their Letters.
Apart from his deep enduring love of Southampton FC his twin passion was entertaining. He found a home for himself in the theatre. Although the shiny lights of London beckoned he resisted their obvious allure preferring to remain with what he now considered his home town theatre. On stage he was a master wit and raconteur providing great joy for thousands. Later in life as work dried up he could still be found in one of the many inns and taverns that populate the dock area where he would always be happy to do a turn for the old sailors. It was said that his knowledge of matters French actually came to his aid in this respect but when people say this I have no idea what they mean.
It is for this reason alone that I will be supporting Southampton against whichever team they happen to be playing today.
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