My Signy Says column in the Barnet FC programme brought the disparaging remark from one supporter that I was a name dropper. Well, with names to drop like Sir Stanley Matthews, Sir Tom Finney, Sir Bobby Charlton,Sir Bobby Robson, Sir Geoff Hurst, Bobby Moore, George Best,and other superstar friends I have accumulated through football, who wouldn't be?

No apologies then for going back to the story of when Pele, possibly the greatest of them all, was flown over to London to be an unannounced guest at the Footballer of the Year dinner at the Cafe Royal.

Eldest daughter Julie was deputed to look after the Great Man in a quiet corner of the Cafe Royal until the dinner guests were assembled and I went down to bring him up to the banqueting suite.

As we got into the lift on the ground floor, some latecomers rushed in from Regent Street and piled in, including the former Liverpool and Fulham goalkeeper Dave Underwood, a team-mate in my days haring down the left wing for Edgware Town reserves, who later became chairman of Barnet.

Dave, a joker and life and soul of the eve of Cup Final parties Mrs S and I held for players and writers in Hendon, stood silently at the back and surveyed the scene.

As the lift moved up, Dave's voice boomed out: "Who's that with Dennis Signy?"
I almost blushed!

I was later the Celebrity reporter for the Sunday Express for five years and covered matches with such luminaries as Elton John. Lennox Lewis, Melvyn Bragg, Maureen Lipton, Henry Cooper, Best, Finney, Matthews and so on.

So,talking of celebrities, who did I meet at Mill Hill School the other evening? None other than fellow blogger Rog T, who was doing the sound for Sir John Dankworth at the highly successful Mill Hill Music Festival.

Rog has asked me to do a review of the 'Evening With' the celebrated clarinettist and his fellow musicians but all I can do is reiterate his view that Sir John and Co were brilliant and seemed to be enjoying playing as much as their audience enjoyed listening. It was a privilege to be there. The whole sound was good, Rog.

What a coup for the festival organisers to get along a master performer who played alongside such musical greats of the golden era as Benny Goodman, Charlie Parker and Sidney Bechet.

As a devotee of big bands and swing, I have consistently been humming "It might as well be Spring" for days and driving Mrs S to distraction. The 43rd wedding anniversary next year is in danger as I write.

By the way, Rog, my summer break from Barnet FC has included listening to the late great Humphrey Lyttleton's Band at the Pentland Theatre, Strictly Gershwin at the Royal Albert Hall, more Mill Hill Midsummer Jazz at the tribute evening to Buddy Rich with the talented Steve Taylor and his Big Band and an hour long delight watching Lena Horne's last-ever concert in the 1990s on TV.

In August we are at Cadogan Hall for A Celebration of Cole Porter. Then it's back to nine months of hard labour hoping that the Bees hit the right notes.

Blog extra: An e-mail from Richard 'Son of Dennis' Signy, who has just finished a stint directing episodes of The Bill for ITV, records a chat with executives at Thames Talkback to thrash out a few ideas for work.

They asked the lad to tell them about himself and he said that he trained as a journalist, went to Granada TV as a researcher and became a director at the age of 32.

"Hang about a minute - is your Dad Dennis Signy?" asked one of the execs.

"Oh, thank goodness you said that", replied Richard. "He's been having a bit of an identity crisis recently and will enjoy being referred to in the old fashioned way".

The exec then recalled being interviewed by me for acceptance by the National Council for the Training of Journalists and, as a keen West Ham United fan, telling me he had read all my books on the Hammers.

He asked to be remembered to me, adding: "Tell him he made a big mistake letting me go".

Ouch! The sins of the father, eh?