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  • Profile picture of Geoff Tabrah

    Geoff Tabrah posted an update 5 years, 10 months ago

    A true story.
    In 1966 I was in the army and on manoeuvres in Germany. We were camouflaged up in the woods on the ranges. There were a lot of wild pigs on the ranges. We were told not to go near a pig because they were not inoculated against TB. Well, I was kicking my heels one morning and decided to dig a pig trap. I dug a pit, tapering in so that the pig couldn’t jump out. Covered it in hessian and scattered leaves and potato peelings. A bit later, I heard this racket going on. When I went to investigate, there was a pig in the trap. Now I had a problem. How do I kill it? I wasn’t going in with a bayonet. A couple of fields away from the woods, a tractor was spreading muck, so I decided to go over and take the driver to the pig. Speaking what German I knew, I led him to the pig that was still trapped in the pit. He gave me the thumbs up and went back to his tractor and drove off. Twenty minutes later he returned with his gun. I helped him lift the pig onto the tractor. That afternoon, he returned with his wife who could speak a little English. They invited me to dinner on the Saturday evening. I had to get permission from my C.O. and he thought it would be good relations with the local farmers. So, Saturday evening I sat down to dinner at the farm. Roast pig was on the menu. Afterwards, I was sitting an armchair, drinking beers that he gave me and, watching the 1966 world cup final. We remained friends for many years. I went back with my wife years later for a visit. He wasn’t in good health and passed away not long afterwards. To us, football had been a game, not a them and us thing.

Source: http://footballpoets.org/members/geofftabrah/activity/11875/