The Place

l know it's been on here , but have we caught up with him yet, Tony Darby, maybe we should leave a half filled plate out and he'll pop up and finish it ?

/brummie accent on 'If no body else want's it..........I'll 'av it!

That should go on his gravestone

My favourite memory of the famous (imfamous !!) Darby statement was in an Italian restaurant in Trieste on the way back from Reieja. We got got back to Trieste on the Sunday evening and booked into a hotel. In total there was 5 of us, The Haynes, John and myself, and Tony. Jeff and I went into the hotel and booked 2 doubles and a single room. Tony wanted to sleep in the car !.

After booking in the room we went to a restuarant, On the menu was calamari which i'm a little partial to. So, the meal arrives and there a 3 full calamari on my plate, whole not sliced. I managed to eat two but the third had beat me, that when the famous words came out, with that Tony harpooned the calamari with his fork and devoured it.

Next morning at the hotel, Jeff and I was queuing up to check out and Tony joined us as the next in line. Usual question etc, did you have a nice stay,blah blah blah. Then came the best question did you have anything from the mini bar, as I replied yes, some orange juice and water, Tony whispers to me, "do you have to pay for the mini bar?, fu^#ing hell, Karl, keep them talking I'd better return it". Tony had opened the mini bar and emptied it into his bag!!!

This was the same weekend the airline he'd flown out with had lost his suitcase.. when it got delivered to the circuit the next day the courier was saying because of the state of it, the firm were willing to pay for a new one as it was busted and all held together will brown parcel tape. this was when Tony piped up no don't worry it was like that when I packed it, the Zips bust

I remember Theo going absolutely balistic with the courier.

Tony turned up at the Airport at Gatwick (or Heathrow can't remember now) in his one piece ski suite and changed in the toilets. he turned up at the check in and asked the check in clerk for the packing tape. John and I were falling about at this site it was hillarious, the check in clerks face was a picture.

A word of warning though never ask Tony about the suite case, we heard him tell people on the plane the story a couple of times, it was a scene out of Airplane the movie and you could just imagine he people queuing up to slap him, or them killing themselves.

Found today at Mallory and he's looking well 8)

first picture i viewed of Mallory today and there he was

and about time too 8)

I hope that some one told him every one was wondering about him, l wonder if he has a computer, ?. and then he could come on Stevesplace. My thought of him is when we came back from Magny Cours he was asleep in the back of the van, and when we braked all the stones Ian had collected from going in the gravel came out of the fairing rolling down on him.