The photograph attached to this post is of legendary Charlton Athletic manager Lennie Lawrence opening the Thomas Cook store in Bexleyheath in 1987. He was accompanied by Midland Bank’s mascot – ‘Griffin’!
I’m often asked how I originally got into football from my previous career in Banking….being totally honest, it’s directly linked to staging loads of Midland Bank events like this one, when I organised the PR of the opening of the brand new Thomas Cook branch in Bexleyheath (Midland owned Thomas Cook then)!
Being ever the pro…when it called for someone to don the Bank’s ridiculous ‘Griffin suit’ for the local press photograph, I of course took on the responsibility!
Just a few months or so after this embarrassing photo was taken, I became a colleague of Lennie’s when I was invited to become Charlton’s Commercial Manager.
It’s a funny old game….!