Room 101: Herbie Stupple – Plymouth Albion back-rower

1. Christmas Scrooges
I’m a very Christmassy person and my dad is the same, I think it’s rubbed off on me. I start singing carols a little before December and I put the tree and the lights up two Sundays ago. While I am trying my hardest to lift the Christmas spirit other people are prepared to put a downer on it. I’m a teaching assistant and I thought the kids at school would be buzzing for Christmas but even they tell me it’s too early to celebrate the festive season.
TRP verdict: Deck the halls with bells of Holly, you’re in Room 101.
2. Baldness banter
Unfortunately, I’m receding and I get a lot of grief about it. I’m only just 26 but it’s been going for a while. I get all sorts of comments: The tide’s going out. Why don’t you cut your hair so it looks longer? What are you going to do with that bird’s nest on the back of your head…? I’ve refrained from using protein shampoos or anything like that at the minute. But I did skin it a couple of weeks ago and compared myself to Sergio Parisse, I am a quarter Italian after all, but no-one agreed with me.
TRP verdict: A bold statement in every sense. I’m afraid it’s a slap in the face (and on the head).
3. BT broadband
I’ve no end of hassles with BT since I bought a new house a year ago. We’ve only literally just got the super-fast broadband sorted but accessing the TV package is still a work in progress. I’ve lost count of the number of phone calls my partner and I have had to make. No-one seems in a rush to help us out and we’ve even been charged for things that we haven’t even used. It drives me insane.
TRP verdict: Aren’t thing always a bit slow down Devon way?