The Netflix documentary on David Beckham has me engrossed – but that’s all down to the ageless Roy Keane. And the bed bugs of Paris have ensured I’m more than happy to watch the Rugby World Cup from a safe distance!
• LIKE countless others across the globe, I tuned in this week to watch some of the new and much-talked about Netflix documentary on David Beckham. It was obvious after just a few minutes what all the fuss was about – it was all down to Roy Keane! I’ve always had a soft spot for the Cork man but after his contribution to this documentary, it’s turned into an almost full blown obsession.
Unfortunately, his appearances are few and far between but when he does pop up with his words of wisdom, it’s box office material. He’s even having a cup of tea and a biscuit in one clip – dowtcha Roy! He’s always been a handsome chap, but I have to say that he’s looking better than ever – whatever moisturiser he’s using, I’d like some please. Hard to believe he’s a grandfather. Mind you, Beckham’s not looking too shabby either (except for all those tattoos). I could be wrong, but I suspect he’s had some extra help, along with Posh Spice, subtle and all as it might be.
Emma Connolly believes Roy Keane’s cameos make him the real star of the Beckham Netflix documentary.
• In general, I have to say I’m very much enjoying the documentary. It’s four, hour-long episodes and at times they do drag a teeny bit but given that I don’t have the slightest interest in soccer, it’s impressive that it held my interest at all. Although the Beckhams’ attraction is far more than just soccer. There’s all the other razzmatazz that goes with the couple, including their insanely gorgeous Cotswold mansion, complete with a £50,000 BBQ tent and an outdoor spa, estimated to be worth around £12m. It’s perfectly tidy too given David’s cleaning rituals and OCD tendencies which he candidly admits are tiring. ‘It’s tiring going around to every single candle and cleaning it and clipping the wick. I clip the candle wicks, I clean the glass, that’s my pet hate, the smoke around the inside of a candle,’ he says at one point.
His wardrobe is also a sight to behold (colour coding taken to the next level) and he organises his outfits a week in advance. Not to make light of the condition, but he’s welcome to come around and sort my gaff any day.
One thing that struck me was how much media interest himself and Victoria attracted everywhere they went, especially after his infamous sending off against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup. The vitriol that created caused him to suffer clinical depression, he revealed. The series has lots of previously unseen archive footage from over the years, as well as current interviews, and from where I was sitting (on a couch not in a Cotswold mansion) it kind of looked like a pretty stressful way to live, even if the pay was good.
• Anyway, perhaps most entertaining of all was my husband’s insistence that almost anyone (himself included, actually especially himself) could have been as good as David Beckham, if they put in the same time and effort.
Beckham’s father coached him intensely from an early age, and that’s discussed in the series, and naturally as a professional footballer he had the luxury of having a singular focus on the beautiful game. Hmmm, still, I’m not so sure.
I think the talent has to be there from the start, and I know I definitely wouldn’t have made it as Posh Spice and that’s for sure! After all my guff I’m not even sure I’ll watch it to the end now – something else ‘Beckons,’ namely Terry Prone’s memoir Caution to the Wind which I can’t wait to get stuck into.
• And what about the bed bugs in Paris? They’re enough to make me glad that I’m not in the French capital to see the rugby – as if it was ever on the table. Oh la nah! Regular readers will know my phobia of insects of the smaller variety, and their love of my home. Bed bugs would be too much for me altogether. These are evolved superbugs too, who are keen to travel and they’re notoriously difficult to get rid of, according to experts. The advice for those returning from the French capital is to change from your travelling outfit into fresh clothes when you land, and before you sit into your car, or enter your home. Boil wash everything, or maybe just bin it to be safe? Might we be seeing men in white suits at airports spraying all incoming Paris visitors with something strong, sometime soon? Who knows. I know that staying home has never seemed like such an attractive option.
Emma Connolly's fear of insects make the prospect of bed bugs in Paris unbearable. (Photo: Shutterstock)
• Meanwhile, Met Éireann has issued its long-term forecast for October, November, and December and despite that rumour circulating last week, there’s no sign of the Beast from the East (just the bugs!). We can expect above average temperatures, and above average rainfall, though. Sea surface temperature is also expected to remain above average, trending 0.5 to 2C degrees higher than normal. Great for the dippers, but a little foreboding all the same.
• Finally, it would be remiss of me not to mention my lovely Aunty Eibhlín, who so sadly passed away last week. She was a big supporter of this column and knowing that she regularly cut them out to keep for my cousin to read, spurred me on, on many a week that I struggled. She was a fantastic woman: great daughter, wife, mother, granny, teacher, aunty and sister-in-law, and was ahead of her time in lots of ways. Growing up, the children’s parties she hosted would give the event organisers of today a run for their money; and her teatime spreads were legendary. When I was a kid, I used to go on my holidays with them to Courtmacsherry, where they have a summer house. The fact that I lived only up the road in Timoleague made it no less exotic or exciting and some of my most cherished childhood memories are from those times. As the reading at her funeral mass said: ‘I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.’ That she did. We will never forget her.
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