Sunday, 26 April 2020

MICK THE SKIP: A PORTRAIT OF MICK HEATHCOTE, EX-PLYMOUTH ARGYLE...

Mick the Skip’



Presence.
Sums up the sportsman:
Height, strength, power.
Someone to be next to
In the Trenches,
One could say.
A man of resilience.

Presence.
A kind of footballing Oracle
Others can turn to:
A defensive pillar
In a war of attrition,
One could say.
A man of no nonsense.

Presence.
Few frills, gets the job done
And missed when absent.
Nicknamed ‘Hoofers’:
Maybe unkindly,
One could say.
A man of common sense.

Presence.
Maybe short of pace
And trickery,
Yet experience
And positional acumen push him
Head and shoulders above others,
One could say.
A man of essence.

Pete Ray

Mick Heathcote, Plymouth Argyle’s captain for a while. 

I wrote this for his testimonial game and it appeared in the match programme. 

Neighbours had hired a skip and as I wrote the poem, I saw ‘Mick the Skip’ on the side of the yellow container. 

I had my title…


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