Opinion: Brief encounters with dodgy ex-members

I once encountered a man in his late twenties in a pub, who waxed lyrical to his mates about me being the "main man" with a "heart of gold". Yet all I could remember of this individual was that he was a constant thorn in my side, and that I had had innumerable confrontations with him.

Sometimes the encounters can be somewhat uncomfortable and potentially compromising. I was in another pub when a voice called me over. Looking around, I spotted a former youth club member with whom I had also subsequently played in a local football team. He was seated at a table in the corner by the window, next to two rather heavily built men in black jackets and opposite two "gangster molls" with blonde hair, short skirts, fishnet tights and long black boots. For a split second, I saw a film set, for each character was a classic stereotype.