Over the years Gary Linekar, Johhny Wilkinson (just after they won the World Cup and being mobbed) and Jason Donavan have being next to me and have all been pleasant to the staff and patient with fans
@whatkatydid2013 In March 2020 on what turned out to be the day lockdown in the UK was announced, Jonny Wilkinson was meant to be keynote speaker at a lunchtime event I was at.
He bailed in the morning citing worries about covid. He did a zoom presentation which was a thing before WFH and which the organisers and venue managed to set up.
We all sided with the organiser because she was in a hole and she is a good person working for a good cause and never lets anyone down. He was really boring and everyone talked through his speech though he could hear us. Of course now I realise he was right and we were stupidly and dangerously complacent.
To be fair to us he was genuinely dull as dogshit as many top sportspeople who go into motivational speaking after retirement are unless you are a fan of the alleged "personality" or the sport or just like cliches about "being your best self every day". That other England rugby player Will "Bumface" Carling was the same though also not unpleasant.
But on covid I admit Jonny got the call right and we were wrong. He shouldn't have left it to the last minute though.