Britain is in need of a morale boost – and I’ve found mine in an unexpected place

Winter seems to have arrived early – I woke to a howling gale and lashing rain tearing petals off the last few roses, sending apples and over-ripe plums to the ground. Where’s the sun?

It’s not just the weather that’s hit the buffers. Earlier in the week, Boris Johnson tried (and failed) to sound like a calm and confident leader as he issued the bad news – more confinement.  

Most of us (understandably) feel cheesed off, having been granted a few weeks of respite (and warm weather) as children returned to school, teenagers started at university and we followed government advice and returned to work. Cruelly, this late-summer sunshine suddenly ended as the government executed another reverse shunt, dashing our spirits with talk of six months of misery, and hints that Christmas plans should be put back in the pending file.

The sound of students in Scotland whingeing about being confined to their digs for a couple of weeks doesn’t cut any ice with the majority of my pals. We’re weary because we know that this is a battle (like many cancers) we may not “win”. Coronavirus is not going away until there’s a vaccine, and even then it could mutate into something else.

What the country needs now isn’t gloomy talk of battles from a series of men pretending to be generals plotting a military campaign – what we need is intelligent positivity. The mood is so grim that even the nation’s cheery chappie, keep-fit guru Joe Wicks, took to social media later in the evening of the PM’s speech, to say he was miserable.

I wanted to shout out: “YOU CAN”T DO THIS JOE, YOUR JOB IS TO KEEP US SMILING.” We’ve got a minister for health, but where’s the minister for mental wellbeing? It’s Nadine Dorries, but personally I haven’t heard much out of her. When it comes to emotional intelligence, politicians are floundering.

Nicola Sturgeon seems determined to come across as tougher than Johnson, but her iron maiden routine isn’t getting results either, as hundreds of university students blatantly ignored her directives, sparking a lockdown. A new survey shows that most people who test positive are secretly refusing to self-isolate. Where’s the politician with the charisma to persuade them this is folly?

At this time of national crisis, tone is everything. That’s why Rishi Sunak remains popular, even though – announcing his new version of furlough which could see a million more unemployed if employers don’t play along – he sounded a note of caution, admitting he could not save every job. In spite of everything, the chancellor manages to appear cheerful, albeit in a carefully contained way. His body language is spry, dynamic – and these things matter. In politics, image is everything.

Searching for something to lift my spirits, I had found solace in the most unexpected quarter – listening to a retired footballer, who once captained a team (Tottenham Hotspur) my family never supported. Growing up in Fulham, west London, my dad regularly took me to matches at Craven Cottage. For years I bought his season ticket, and my two cousins have remained lifelong Fulham fans; one even held his wedding reception at the ground! Before lockdown, they spent every other Saturday during the season travelling the country to away matches.

Growing up, you couldn’t mention rival teams in our house, for fear of winding up Dad. Saturdays at 5pm meant utter silence as he sat at the kitchen table checking his football coupon. He never won anything, and a period of tight lipped mourning would last until bedtime. In my twenties, I rented a flat overlooking Chelsea’s ground with the bonus of a free view of the pitch gained by standing on the toilet. Dad refused to visit – it was enemy territory.

So the ramblings of a former Spurs player were unlikely to be on my agenda, but lockdown has seen us find comfort in weird and unexpected places. Gary Mabbutt started his career at Bristol Rovers, then at Spurs for 16 years, and was team captain from 1987 to 1995.

During the pandemic he’s been at home shielding, as he suffers from type 1 diabetes. Mabbutt could be one of the miseries – he’s long been plagued by ill-health. In 1993, he fractured his skull and eye socket after being tackled by John Fashanu. Shortly after retiring he had a heart bypass, and on holiday in 2018 a rat ate part of his leg! Surgery, following his diabetes diagnosis, has left him unable to kick a ball or run, so he had to give up coaching.

But is 59-year-old Mabbutt miserable? Certainly not. Since lockdown, he’s taken on a new “job” – spending two hours a day on the phone, calling Spurs supporters on their anniversaries and birthdays for a friendly chat. This Friday, his 1,000th call was to 77-year-old Roger Peerless.

These two enthusiasts swapping anecdotes was radio gold, as they say in the business. There was talk of Spurs player Bobby Smith, who came onto the pitch at Brighton still smoking a cigarette. Lovely memories. Mabbutt always asks how people are coping, and conversation is easy when both of you share a common passion. Mabbutt’s new “job” is inspirational, and I’m sure there are thousands more unsung heroes like him all over the country.

If it wasn’t for people like Mabbutt and Wicks, morale would be even lower. When the clocks go back on 25 October, days will seem shorter – marking the start of a very difficult time as employers will be deciding how many employees they can afford to keep.

A big thank you to Gary Mabbutt for this unexpected pleasure. Listening to a couple of Spurs fanatics made my day. Please don’t expect me to start calling people up, I haven’t got Mabbutt’s people skills.