10:02am Saturday 20th March 2010
It was the day that veteran goalkeeper Corbett Waistell’s enthusiasm got the better of him – and led him to spend two nights handcuffed to six other prisoners in an infested Egyptian cell.
Not playing the game? “It was a total nightmare. I’ve never been so frightened in my life,” he says.
Corbett, 57, is an old friend of these columns, right back to the days when he let in something like 18 for Toronto Youth Club and was still named man of the match.
That was the Toronto near Bishop Auckland. It was only when the unemployed builder tried to spread his wings - and to escape the Co Durham winter - that he found himself arrested on suspicion of international espionage.
“All I wanted was a bit of sun on my back,” he protests.
Corby, poor lad, really would have been the spy who came in from the cold The “horrific” experience began when Corbett, a plane spotter for 11 years, was watching aircraft from his hotel sunbed in the popular resort of Na’ama Bay.
“It was about five miles from the airport. I was just watching whatever went past through my binoculars when suddenly I found three policemen alongside me and one of them started to laugh.
“He asked me if I could go down to the station to give them assistance for 20 minutes. I never got back.
“I had clearance badges from Heathrow and all over, some with the word ‘enthusiast’ on. None of them understood it. I suppose I’ve always been one of life’s enthusiasts.”
A Foreign Office spokesperson said that she’d never previously heard of plane spotters being arrested in Egypt.
At the police station in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Corbett was thrown into a cell by armed officers. “There was a concrete bed, like a square block, and a three-piece suited that was riddled, absolutely infested, by goodness knows what.
“The toilet was a hole in the floor, no paper or anything. It was a total joke and the worst of it was that I couldn’t get anyone to understand me.”
At night he was taken what be believes was 80 miles to court, one of 25 prisoners - “Arabs, Egyptians, Bedouins, the lot” - handcuffed one to another in the back of a police van. Once there, he was put into another cell.
“I was still just wearing the little shorts and T-shirt that I had on when they took me away. Everyone was looking at me like I was barmy, but though they said it was their cold season, I was red hot. I just couldn’t understand what I was doing there.”
He was invited to pay for a lawyer and an interpreter - “conmen as it turned out, working with the police” - but explained that his money was back at the hotel.
“They were saying that if I filled in a few forms I could be free, but then another lawyer rang wanting £650.
“Fortunately my wife had arrived by this time, but when she saw me behind bars handcuffed to six others, she just broke down. I was absolutely terrified by then.
“It was like being in a time warp. My wife being there was the only thing in my favour.”
His wife and other family members had, however, been able to contact the British embassy. “Next morning I was taken to see a couple of women and one asked if I was Corby.
“She said we’d been quite close to the Israel border and they thought I was a spy. I’ve never heard such rubbish in my life. By this time I was absolutely black, still wearing my shorts and Tshirt and covered from head to foot in bites.”
Eventually he was escorted back to the airport, where his wife met him from the hotel and they returned to their home in Chilton, near Ferryhill, minus the binoculars and £300 for lawyers.
“The woman from the consulate told me that if I’d been found guilty, I’d probably have got three years. I still don’t know what I’m supposed to have done.”
Back home, he’s secretary, treasurer, assistant manager, kitman and still an occasional goalkeeper - “three times this season, just to keep my hand in” - for Chilton Community College in the Over 40s league.
Down to earth in time for a vital cup semi-final win last weekend, he’s getting back to his old self. “They’d be knackered without me,” he says.
The Foreign Office spokesperson confirms that a British national was detained from March 6 to March 8 “for using prohibited electronic equipment” and had received consular assistance.
“Our travel advice is to obey local laws. There may be very serious penalties for breaking a law which seems trivial to you or for doing something which may not be illegal in the UK. You may be fined or sent to prison.
“Hobbies that involve using cameras or binoculars, such as bird watching or plane spotting, may be misunderstood, particularly near military sites, government buildings, airports and railway stations.”
Corbett gets the message.
“They needn’t worry,” he says, “I’m definitely not going back.”
SAFE hands, as always, recent columns have recalled Peter Shilton, record breaking appearance in 125 England internationals and 1,005 Football League games. It sends Colin Smith dipping into the Darlington record books, too.
Shilton’s first club was Leicester City, his last – of 11 – Leyton Orient. He played for both at Feethams, an extraordinary 28 years apart.
The first, says Colin – also in Darlington – was in the League Cup on September 4 1968. The Quakers were unbeaten in the league and had already seen off Bradford Coty in the League Cup but lost 3-1 despite Ken Felton’s goal. The crowd was 11,653.
The great goalkeeper had already played his 1,000th match when, aged 47, he returned to Darlington on December 28, 1996. Brian Atkinson scored for Darlington, Colin West for Orient.
“The 47-year-old showed that his reflexes were still as sharp as ever with a couple of good stops but Quakers didn’t test him to any great extent,”
reported the Echo.
The crowd, despite the time of year, was just 2,700. “An altogether more low key affair,” says Colin.
The key to Shilton’s record, he supposes, is that he played so many games as teenager.
“He really did span the generations.”
PETER SHILTON was but a bit bairn, of course, compared to Billy Smith, featured in Tuesday’s column and at 85 still playing weekly six-a-side games.
Mention of his 57-year-old team mate Steve Holroyd, former England schoolboy international and Darlington midfielder, stirred memories for Harry Manuel, now in Hexham.
Harry, known as Basher - the nickname is sadly unexplained - served his time at Harry Peacock’s racing yard in Richmond with Steve’s dad, Alfie, who “did” a horse called Diredowa, winner in 1946 and 1947 of the Manchester Cup.
Both men grew too heavy for the flat, Alfie’s first ride over sticks on The Bass.
Peacock also owned the favourite, Banshah, ridden by stable jockey Dougie Smith.
“Alfie was told to get out of the gate well, make the running and then Banshah would pass him,” recalls Harry.
Banshah never did. The Bass finished third, Alfie still looking over his shoulder. “I think it was down to Alfie,” says his old mate. “The Bass never did as well again.”
DIREDOWA was owned by Rupert Mortimer, a Darlington hairdresser who long had a photograph of the horse in his shop window.
Mortimer was also a Darlington cricketer, but had hearing difficulties after a wartime bomb attack.
His hearing aid, it was recalled, was a great galumphing thing involving a band across his head, a contraption in his ear, a wire down his back and a dial on his belt.
One day, Rupert was striding towards the crease and was assailed by an opposing fieldsman. “Can you get the North Home Service on that thing,” he said. The two men never spoke again.
JUST when everyone hoped they’d seen the last of the snow, there was still a pile outside Consett’s ground when they played Spennymoor Town on Wednesday. Up there they’re weather-beaten. “It was 20ft high last week,” they insisted.
ANOTHER World Cup approaches, Neil Phillips – England’s team doctor in 1966 - draws attention to his self-published autobiography. “A sign of the low measure of my celebrity status,” he supposes.
Born into a Welsh rugby playing family, his own rugby career was ended by a head injury at 17. He was also on Glamorgan’s books as a cricketer before concentrating on medicine.
He became not only Middlesbrough’s club doctor but vice-chairman and, between 1964-77, “director in charge of football.” The book - available through amazon.com or Trafford.com - touches upon everything from the Bogota bracelet (“the truth”) to Big Jack’s time at the Boro.
Now in the West Midlands, Dr Phillips is himself recovering after prostate cancer treatment. He and his wife are off to recuperate in the sun.
THOUGH it must share the limelight with the village gala and the World Cup, Trev Sharples is again organising the annual Sunderland fans’ gathering in Hawes, top of Wesleydale, on Saturday June 26. All are welcome.
Already they’ve attracted red-and-whites from as far away as Northampton, says Trev. All World Cup matches will be available on big screen.
So will celebrations be muted a little if the Mags rejoin them in the top flight?
Trev hasn’t replied to the question.
THE two players who’ve won Champions League, UEFA Cup, FA Cup and Premier League honours (Backtrack, March 16) are Kanu with Ajax, Inter Milan and Arsenal and Paulo Ferreira with Porto and Chelsea.
Today back to Peter Shilton, because we were mistaken to suppose that he’d never played for a club north of Nottingham - he did, and for just one game. Readers are invited to identify it.
Pretty enduring itself, the column returns on Tuesday.
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