The Avengers Forever: Fan Tales

	Fan Tales Page 5 of 9

Why Is He Your Ex-Boss?
by Matthew J. Elliott

I met Patrick Macnee ever so briefly in 1997 at Waterstone's in Manchester when he was signing copies of The Avengers and Me. I was struck by the way his eyeballs seemed to be gradually retreating into their sockets, but I was also anxious, knowing that he would write only his name in each book and I had a special request.

Before I went out to the signing, I was collared by Norman Cartledge, a colleague who had briefly been my supervisor in the civil service. His wife, he said, was a Patrick Macnee fan. Could I get Patrick to write "Happy Birthday" in the copy he fully intended to pay me for at some stage in the distant future?

After Patrick had signed my own copy, I placed a second in front of him and asked, "Could you write 'Happy Birthday' in this one? It's for my ex-boss's wife." To which, without missing a beat, he asked, "Why is he your ex-boss and why is it to his wife?" Frankly, I'm glad I couldn't think of a reply. It's usually a crushing disappointment to discover that your idol is not at all the way you imagined them, but it was a marvellous moment when I discovered that Patrick Macnee was and still is John Steed.