A Celebration of the great and the good

Jimmy’s Restaurant in Bournemouth, Dorsetwas the venue for a meeting of the great and the good on Sunday 9 September. The Murry Foundation in association with Terry and Frida Baker from A1 sporting speakers, avid supporters of the Foundation, welcomed one of football’s greats at a dinner held to raise funds in support of its work with orphan children and in the fields of conservation and animal welfare.

It was an evening which those present will never forget as Sir Geoff Hurst, England’s 1966 World Cup hero and the only player ever to have scored a World Cup hat-trick, shared some fascinating insights into the world of football. The rapt audience followed the mesmerising account of a second by second description of the build up to that final goal. Did the third goal he scored in the World Cup final really cross the line? What did the late great Alan Ball shout to the three goal legend a second before he scored the decisive fourth goal and to what did this diminutive wizard attribute his somewhat high pitched voice? What did the England team do in the evening following their historic victory? What makes Nobby Styles, that most combative and effective footballer and fellow World Cup hero, such an endearing character? What made Bobby Moore such an exceptional player? What does he think of the current state of English football? Oh and what did the London cab driver say to Sir Geoff as he drove him to Heathrow airport?

It was an evening of pure nostalgia for the more ‘mature’ members of the audience and an opportunity for younger generations present to enjoy the company of and understand why Sir Geoff Hurst is a sporting legend.

It was fitting that this modest man should remind the assembled company of why they were there. He paid tribute to the incredible work being carried out by the Murry Foundation and emphasised just how privileged he felt to be associated with  and able to support their various endeavours. Sir Geoff reminded everyone of how humility should be a reference point for us all, as should the untiring and unceasing efforts of the Murry Foundation which are grounded in working for the greater good of the underprivileged and endangered.