The fantasy of football

IN THE WORLD of street entertainment, if there is one thing worse than a fella mangling Bob Dylan — and in the world of street entertainment, there’s always a fella mangling Bob Dylan — it’s someone pretending to be trapped in an invisible box or, how droll, passing themselves off as the Statue of Liberty.

So here’s a handy tip for really messing with the minds of the self-styled mime artists — mime putting money in their hat. And why not give them a great, big wink while you’re at it? This happy thought is prompted by the sad passing of Marcel Marceau who can no more be blamed for a grown man acting the maggot on Grafton Street than Zimmy can be held responsible for someone desecrating ‘Mr Tambourine Man’.

And what a pity that football didn’t mark the passing of the grand old man with a minute’s noise before kick off. Frankly, I have no idea if Marcel Marceau had any interest in the footie but, as the undisputed master of simulation, his influence on the modern game can only be judged profound.