Cliff Stamp, a safety steward at Histon FC, abseiled off the roof of the new Tottenham Hotspur stadium in memory of his long-time friend Paul Wilson from Cottenham, whose funeral was attended by more than 250 people.
A lifelong Spurs fan (as was Paul), Cliff, 72, was gifted the chance to go up to the roof – up 110 steps and 43 and a half metres from ground level – by his son as a present for Father’s Day. He did it on Tuesday, August 29.
“We listened to stories, we touched the cockerel and I was thinking of my mate Paul,” said Cliff, “and then after about half an hour, there’s even a little bar up there, so if you’re nervous you can have a quick G&T!
“They took some lovely photos of us and we then decided to descend. Well my son Matty put his hands up and said, ‘no dad you’re not coming down, I’ve got this special thing for you, this abseiling – you’ve got to do it in memory of your mate who’s recently died’.”
Before setting off, Cliff was told not to look left while descending. “What’s the first thing I did? I looked left,” he said, “and what did I see? The bloody Arsenal stadium!”
Cliff was the first one down and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
“I did it and it was a tribute to my mate,” he said, “and three days later, I went to the crematorium and I told his family and they were all giving me man-hugs and thanking me very much.
“It was an absolutely wonderful day.”
