Barry Barnett – a tribute from a friend…
I met Barry when we started school at Capel manor in Bullsmoor Lane in the mid 60’s.
Even then, Barry was a great footballer and it was obvious he had a chance to make it as a professional footballer.
We moved on to Bishop Stopford school in Enfield to join his brother Russell. They say they’re the best days of your lives and this was no exception.
Barry made many friends. We all knew that Barry loved football and many thought would make it as a professional.
Barry’s Mum and Dad bought him an electric guitar and amplifier when he was around 14. They probably regretted it soon after as he spent many hours in his bedroom with his friends, all of us discovering that our talents lied elsewhere !
We enjoyed Rock n Roll music, including music from Chuck Berry, Eddie Cochran but most of all Elvis.
Even as a teenager, Barry had a love of comedy. He loved to watch the Marx brothers and Norman Wisdom in the old black and white movies. He would often watch the same films, over and over, again, laughing out loud the third or fourth time as much as the first. A few years later, Russ Abbott would give him as much pleasure. We would often borrow Russell’s Status Quo LPs and play them whilst he was out.
As 15 year-olds we used to sneak into pubs and drink halves of lager for 10p. We used to go to the Salisbury pub in Bush Hill park and sit in awe of the Teddy boys with their greased up quiffs and their ¾ length coats with suede shoes while they danced to the Rock n roll music. Everybody knew we were under age but we were good lads, well behaved and they left us alone to enjoy ourselves.
John Rouhan was Barry’s PE teacher and football mentor. When Barry left school, John introduced Barry to Colchester United FC.
Barry was then signed up as an apprentice footballer at Layer road and spent a couple of years with the club, even playing in a couple of first team cup games.
Barry’s Dad John would often be the taxi driver for Barry to enable him to get to football games. He would support Barry in most of his games through rain or shine.
Barry played mainly for the Colchester reserves and on match days he would often be seen signing autographs for the young fans. Barry’s teammates and opponents at this time included many who would go on to play for top class clubs.
Unfortunately, at the time when contracts were due to be signed at Colchester, Barry had picked up a knee injury. The uncertainty over the extent of the injury was enough to worry the manager at the time Jim Smith and prevent him signing Barry on professional terms.
This was a devastating blow. Other clubs were interested but Barry decided not to pursue any more opportunities in professional football.
Barry then had the opportunity to embrace “normal life” with the rest of us.
In the late 70’s he met Gina and they were eventually married. Barry and Gina set up home initially above Gina’s mum’s shop then off to Sheering in Essex before moving to Crown Lodge in Upshire.
Eventually, along came their two sons, Lee and Carl. Barry was always extremely proud of his sons. The family shared many holidays, some with myself and Linda mainly in Corfu and many happy times.
On one occasion, Barry went waterskiing in Corfu with an old friend called George who seemed to own most of the resort where they were staying. After about 10 minutes Barry was getting tired and waved to George “that was enough” and they should head for the shore. George took Barry’s waves to mean “Go faster, keep going !”. 30 mins later Barry scrambled up the beach. His arms were so tired that he couldn’t even lift his beer off the table that night !”….and that was saying something !
Around this time, Barry took up golf and enjoyed the occasional game of squash, for a while there was a small family squash leagues set up with games every Sunday night.
Barry and played Sunday football for the Royal Blues in Enfield with many friends, Willy Walker, Graham and Paul Moxom, Steve Sawkins, Soggy, Steve Humphries, myself and many others.
It was a well known fact that Barry had never missed a penalty – he had such a sweet left foot…. until one day a Sunday league keeper managed to get a hand to one and push it over the bar. Barry was bitterly disappointed – his 100% record was gone !
30 mins later it was all forgotten as we all met up for a drink after the game as usual.
He also had a keen interest in watching the game.
He supported Chelsea but was more interested in local teams such as Brimsdown and Enfield. Barry, his brother Russell, Graham Moxom and Billy Lawrence would often watch their games. They were happy days.
Sadly though, Barry and Gina’s marriage ended in divorce.
After a few years Barry then married Diane. They had many happy years together. They lived in Barnet initially, making many friends in the area often spending a Sunday afternoon in the Barnet Working men’s club.
He loved horse racing and his favourite horse was “Baby Barry” – can’t think why ! Barry would bet on the horse every time it ran. Nobody knows if he ended up making any money – I doubt it !
Barry had been a lorry driver for some time and Diane was a Cook but whilst they were living in Waltham Abbey, they decided to enter Pub management. This seemed a great idea at the time. Pub management suited Barry and Diane’s gregarious nature and with Diane’s cooking skills, a rosy future beckoned. ….
Barry was a big fan of the TV program “Only Fools and Horses”. He collected the whole set of DVDs of every series. At the end of a long day in the pub he would often sit down and watch these. He picked up a few of Del boy’s sayings and his favourite line back to Diane was
“a man’s not an island you know !”
Things didn’t go entirely according to plan in the pub business, Frustratingly, Barry and Diane suffered a number of setbacks as the pubs they were placed in couldn’t develop enough trade.
Barry and Diane bought a beautiful Alsatian puppy. They called him Barney. It turned out that Barney was half dog, half bear. He was enormous – the biggest dog you’ve ever seen. Barry and Diane loved him.
Altogether they ran about 7 pubs around the south east of England, eventually moving to The Rat’s Castle in St Albans.
Barry and Diane really made a great impression here in St Albans It was a time of friendship, camaraderie, and good times.
A regular event at any of the pubs run by Barry and Diane was a night of live music by Dave Parry. Dave often performs as Elvis. Barry and Diane loved Dave’s shows and would arrange for him to entertain their customers at every opportunity.
Barry would also run discos in the pub. He had bought lots of the equipment over the years and would be the DJ on a Friday night in the “Rats”. Barry’s style was laid back to say the least and he would hardly say a word whilst playing his 60s, 70s and 80’s music. In his mind he didn’t need to – the music spoke for itself.
Many friendships were made in a short time at the Rat’s Castle. Barry and Diane would still be there today if they could have stayed…. But they were asked to move onto their current pub the bread and cheese in Benfleet.
Whilst in Benfleet, Barry and Diane made friends with Shawn who from being a customer at the pub has become a true friend and in recent weeks has been a real pillar of strength for Diane.
Barry enjoyed his golf and for a while was a member at the Mill Green golf club in Hatfield. He enjoyed many games with Lee and Carl
In the past few years Barry’s sons Lee and Carl have met their own partners and earlier this year, Barry become a proud grandfather when Lee and his wife Rachel had a daughter who they named Mia.
All his life Barry enjoyed the support of his close family. Not just his Mum and Dad but also his Aunt Velma and Uncle Fred, who have treated Barry as a son.
For what it’s worth, Barry was simply my best friend. Since we were kids, he was always there for me. I hope I was there for him too.
I’ll miss him terribly, we all will, his laid back style, his smile, his way of always making a joke out of every situation. He left a lasting impression on everybody he knew.
We’ll always love you Barry – rest in peace mate !
