Little is known about the mother of one of the greatest footballers of all time. Ann Best was a very private woman; a housewife and mother who just happened to have as her son George Best.

We all know the story of George. The brilliant meteoric rise of the freakishly talented teenager from Cregagh in East Belfast – the sad personal decline into ill health - the liver transplant that gave us all one more shot at glimpsing the genius in the man until nature decided to cut his rebirth all too tragically short.

Innumerable words have been written about George and his alcoholism; many attempted to help him as the illness stole his talent and ate away at his devastatingly good looks. All the help was there for the taking for George – but how much help was there for his mother Ann…?

One of Ann Best’s legacies to her son was her sporting prowess; she was a talented hockey player and very much the influence in her son’s early life. Her other legacy, the one she gave to George before she even knew she had it herself, was the dependency on alcohol that would blight both their lives.

 

 

 

 

 

Ann, like many women around the world who find the pressures of unexpected circumstances too difficult to cope with, sought escape through alcohol. She became one of the millions of ‘silent drinkers’ that count a peculiarly female membership, and she, like many women, joined the ranks as a mature woman.

It is so easy to join the club too. So many places to hide those bottles, so easy to mask the whiff of booze on the breath. Each drink diminishes the stress, fear and anxiety – but sadly the essence of the person as well.

Last night the story of Ann Best was shown on television and quite understandably her  family was not in favour of this side of their mother being the subject of a film to be shown to the masses. It was undoubtedly an intrusion on the privacy of a family who has spend the better part of four decades facing the glare of controversy with the quiet dignity they are known for.

But if, last night, that film held a mirror up to the face of just one woman in that silent minority and helps her to change her life for the better – then maybe the Best family will be able to take some heart from that.

Anns devoted husband, Dickie, once stated “I became an expert on something I didn’t want to know anything about…”

There is always plenty of help for the George Bests of this world – the Ann Bests though continue to suffer in self-imposed silence.

Copyright © 2007-2012 Cultured Views. All rights reserved.

I have to applaud all those people who turned out to participate in the 26.2 mile London marathon today.

I said ‘participate’ because not all the competitors run the distance; many walk it and even ’wheel’ it, with the aim of raising money for many different charities.

There were some real standouts in the mass of competitors today; one being a returned serviceman who, although an amputee, intends to complete the full circuit even though it will take him 13 days to do so. And he is doing it to raise funds for other servicemen and women who have been wounded serving their country. What a hero.

And I have to say ‘well done’ to Peter and Katie Andre (Jordan) for making their critics eat their words. You don’t have to be a fan of theirs to admire their courage and stamina in completing the marathon – with Katie barely able to walk after hurting her knee and wearing a picture of her son Harvey on her shirt front.  Visually impaired children will benefit from her efforts today. And bravo to Pete for sticking with his girl and finishing the event alongside her.

The serious winners crossed the finish line after just over two hours, they are the pro runners, but to me the real winners are those who ran – and still are running - with their hearts even though their bodies struggled to keep up.

Officially there was one ‘winner’ – in my opinion all 35,ooo competitors are winners.

Copyright © 2007-2012 Cultured Views. All rights reserved.