Freebie fun

Not a bad view, all things considered.

The launch of Yorkshire Man was an absolute treat. Good food, plenty of drink, excellent seats and brilliant company (from left to right - Dan, John and Paul).

Indeed, the only slight disappointment was the Leeds Rhinos themselves who were, well, hornless. They went down with little more than a whimper to Harlequins who rode out winners by 21 points to four. Very poor.

Of course, the actual game is only a minor distraction when you're in corporate hospitality - especially when neither yourself nor any of your party are huge rugby league fans.

But at least we watched the game. I remember working behind the bar at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone when I was student. The marquee we were in was on one of the fastest bends on the track and seeing Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, Nigel Mansell and Damon Hill weave their way through was a real thrill.

I had arranged with some of the girls I was working with to do the early "shift" and then they would cover me so I could watch the race itself, and I loved every second. There were a number of TVs in the marquee and, when I left for the start of the race, they were - unsurprisingly - all tuned into the live coverage of the Grand Prix.

However, when I nipped back mid-race to check everything was OK, the TV nearest the bar had been switched over to EastEnders and all the girls were huddled around it. They had even pumped up the volume so as to drown out the noise of the Formula One cars passing by just a few metres away. I've always thought there was just something a little bit wrong about that - but maybe it's just a bloke thing.