Sally Allen: As Bette Davis said 'Old age ain't no place for sissies'

This wonderful quote from the indomitable Bette Davis 'old age ain’t no place for sissies' totally sums up how I feel at the moment.

I am clearly getting very old because it seems that I am losing friends every week now. Two just in this last week.

The problem is that I still feel in my 20s or on bad days in my 30 is falling apart! The seesaw of life is now very much on the down as it seems I have more friends who are past than present.

I don’t want to sound too whingy as I realise that I am extremely lucky with my life and luckier than most. It is just that I find it more and more difficult to lose those I love and admire, so basically anyone I care about.

Going back to the two very dear friends and colleagues I sadly lost this week, Dickie Davies at 94 years old and John Motson at 77 years old. When I was young these ages seemed positively ancient. Now, of course, it seems far too young to die. Unrealistic of course, but you cling to what you can.

In 2002, at the age of only 68, the truly exceptional and wonderful John Bromley died. Brommers, who ran ITV Sport for almost three decades, was one of the most influential figures in the history of ITV.

He created World of Sport and The Big Match and launched the careers of such TV veterans as Jimmy Greaves and Ian St John.

Together with Jimmy Hill and Brian Moore, Bromley changed viewing habits for a decade when they launched The Big Match in the previously sacrosanct Sunday lunchtime slot.

Brommers was one of the most loved people in sport. He knew everyone and he was a terrific deal maker. It was through him that I met Dickie, the host of World of Sport for nearly two decades.

These were golden years for sport on TV, not as slick or expensive as it is today by a long way, but so much fun and not a hint of wokery. And we did have some serious fun while breaking boundaries on a regular basis.

From the first time of meeting Brommers and subsequently Dickie, we all remained firm friends for well over 30 years and swelled the takings at many restaurants and bars in London, in particular Langan’s, then owned and run by the also sadly departed and much loved, Richard Shepherd.

The BBC, in those days woke free, also had their incredible characters. Most notable among them of course, was the brilliant John Motson. Motty was a true one-off. He started off doing radio commentary for tennis. This as I am sure you can imagine, has to be the most difficult sport to commentate on to an unseeing audience. Play is so quick, and the commentator has to be so fast thinking to keep up with it. It was a great way for Motty to hone his craft.

Quite rightly, there have been so many column inches written about this amazing man who became the voice of football for 50 years. Motty worked harder than anyone I know. He would painstakingly accumulate and learn all the facts and back stories on all the players, the clubs and grounds locally and internationally.

In 1990, Motty even put a lot of effort into learning Italian when the World Cup took place in Rome. He was dedicated and we used to tease him about his ‘anorak’ knowledge, which also included an amazing recall of pop music trivia too.

In the late 1980s and through the 1990s, when I had our sport marketing and PR agency, we used to get Motty to work for some of our clients. He would commentate on the Guinness Soccer 6 tournaments at G-Mex each year and the dinners with him and the crew afterwards were legendary.

Motty also used to love his horse racing and so he would always be our guest down at Cheltenham and at Aintree, of which Guinness was also a major sponsor. No party was complete without Motty and his driver Russell.

The three people that I mention here, were all from a different era. They were exceptionally warm and supportive with massive personalities. They knew their business backwards and had got to their positions through extremely hard graft and eventually becoming the best at what they did. They were not politically correct or part of any minority groups but they all changed what they did for the better, and importantly also had fun while they did it.

Not a sissy in sight. I shall miss them all so much. It is the end of an era.