'That can't be George Best, he's drinking tea!' quipped Joanni Lane, the wife of horse trainer and former Jockey Club steward Geoff Lane, as she looked on at a Wednesday night race meeting at Happy Valley in the early '80s.
'It is, and yes, he is drinking TEA!' I replied.
At the time George, or Besty as we called him, was a guest of Caroline Hill Football Club, who then played in Hong Kong's First Division.
The grand old lady of Hong Kong football, Veronica Chui Yiu-kam, had invited him out on a short contract accompanied by his manager, Bill McMurdo. Knowing Mr McMurdo from Scotland and Besty from when I had a short stint in the North American Soccer League, when he played for the Los Angeles Aztecs, I was asked by Mr McMurdo to find suitable ports of call for George that didn't involve alcohol.
Aware that George had a penchant for the horses, a night at the races in the Hong Kong Football Club box seemed a perfect choice.
Once people in the box knew it was George despite the cups of tea, he happily signed autographs and chatted, while for good measure backed three winners. Later in his tour George turned up on a Sunday morning at So Kon Po for a friendly soccer match that I had arranged. My side comprised current and former players plus jockeys and businessmen. Our opponents were the Royal Navy, based at the then HMS Tamar. George, who had a game several days later, couldn't play, but agreed to do the job of linesman.