Room 101: Scott Barrow – Fylde centre
I hate being late for anything – for training, a party…and, by the same token, it irritates me when other people are unpunctual. If I’m told to be somewhere at 7.00pm for 7.30, I’ll either be there a few minutes early or bang on the dot. I’m always first at every ‘do’, and it drives my wife bonkers because I’m always on at her to get ready in plenty of time. The only exception to the rule was on our wedding day, when, of course, it is fashionable for the bride to be late. But, even then, we did discuss it beforehand! Before mobiles, people were not so ‘fast and loose’ with timings; there was none of this, ‘I’m on my way’, or ‘I’ll be there in five minutes’, which patently is never the case when it comes to food deliveries or taxis. It’s going back a few years now, but when I was at Glasgow Rory Lamont used to be particularly bad with his time-keeping. While at Leeds I think I was only late once in four years despite travelling to and back from my home in St Helens, which involves commuting on the notoriously bad M62. I used to leave between 6-7am just so I’d miss the traffic. I’d often get there well in advance of boys who lived just around the corner from the club.
TRP verdict: Time waits for no man so, without further ado, you’re in!
2. Lukewarm drinks/meals
I get annoyed when I’m served a ‘hot’ meal or a drink that is anything but hot. I always ask for my tea or coffee to be made steaming hot because nine times out of ten it’s like they’ve never even bothered to boil the kettle. It’s especially bad if the milk goes in first: a couple of mouthfuls and it’s gone. Having a bit of an asbestos mouth, as far I’m concerned it’s a case of the hotter the better.
TRP verdict: A storm in a tea cup. You’re too hot to trot into Room 101 this time.
3. Stolen yards
I’m a stickler for pointing out kickers who move the ball closer to the sticks when they’re about to take a penalty and the referee’s not looking. It all stems from a match at Gloucester few seasons ago when we (Leeds) were winning by two points going into the final minute. The referee awarded a penalty to Gloucester just inside our half but Nicky Robinson ended up taking it near the 10-metre line. I was shouting at the ref to tell him what he’d done but my protests fell on deaf ears. The kick ended up sneaking over by a few inches and they won 22-21. I said to myself then that I’d never let it happen again.
TRP verdict: We’ll turn a blind eye to this one, too. Sorry you’re out.
