Hmm that's an interesting one. I'm going to avoid getting a call an hour before the QPR game with an offer of a ticket, because that was anything but free. I'm also going to exclude any one off sporting corporate jollies as that's cheating; I've worked in and around an industry for a very long time where they're relatively easy to come by - it also helps if you're best mate is a City fan who's a director of a Premier League sponsor.
So I'm going to pick the five that are uppermost in my mind where I didn't have to put my hand in my pocket once (even though on some occasions I did out of politeness)
- Blagged a trip to the Ice Hotel in Sweden courtesy of a vodka company. Flew to Stockholm, spent the night, flew up to Kiruna, got on skidoos at the airport to the hotel. Stayed for two nights, got dragged around by huskies, nearly died of hypothermia on the second night. Had the worst hangover of my life coming back. Fucking brilliant trip and only got invited because someone dropped out at the last minute.
- Spent a whole weekend in Ibiza, went to around ten clubs - didn't have to queue or pay to get in one club. Was treated like royalty where ever we went. Totally unexpected. Tagged along with a friend of a friend at the start of weekend and just fell into this group with a couple of really well connected club promoters. Never saw any of them again.
- Once got the City team coach back from an away game in around 1987. Been out with my mate the night before and got absolutely hammered and was going to the game with another mate - his dad, who was well connected at the club at the time, drove us both there, but after the game something cropped up and he had to go to London, so he arranged for me and his lad to go back on the team coach. Totally surreal sat talking to Steve Redmond and Ian Brightwell while Kenny Clements played cards on the next table, especially as I had grass stains all down the front of my jeans as I hadn't brought a change of clothes from the night before and I had fallen down a grass verge. Mental really.
- Went to the Stella Tennis four years in the run (which isn't in itself that much of a blag) but in those four years I watched around ten minutes tennis in total and took a different girl every year, both of which are records I'm truly proud of. I was definitely at my peak in the first four years of the last decade.
- Got invited, again at the last minute, to a friend of a friend's 40th about 15 years ago. He and his family were (and are) absolutely minted. We flew in the family's private jet (which had been loaned to Claudia Schiffer the week before), flew to Dublin and stayed in the suite at the Clarence Hotel (owned at the time by U2). Didn't have to put my hand in my pocket once. The whole weekend was like 'The Hangover'. Best part was being sat in the bar on the Saturday night and overhearing Kate Moss and Sadie Frost complain that we were in 'their' room. Fucking mint!
