One former Croydon schoolboy has especially fond memories of the late entertainment star Sir Jimmy Savile.
Offered the chance to have any wish granted many boys would opt for a day at Wembley or a drive in a race car but for 11-year-old Mark Cayley it was the chance to be suitcase.
He had his wish granted by legend Jimmy Savile on the hit show Jim’ll Fix It 29 years ago and the medal he received still hangs proudly in his living room.
Mr Cayley, who grew up in Sefton Road, Addiscombe, produced a Youtube video of his great day out and after his strange request was referred to by comedian Russell Howard three weeks ago has received more than 20,000 hits.
He said: “I don’t remember a great deal of it now, but i remember meeting Jimmy. He was such a nice guy. I actually read about his death on Facebook. I was a bit gutted. What he did for charity and the way he helped so many people was incredible. You think he’ll go forever. It was a sad day for England.
The father of three, who now lives in Hastings, said: “I wrote off just for the fun of it. Before [comedian] Russell Howard I only had about 8,000 hits but after he took the mick out of my request it has had loads of hits.
“I had the footage recorded on Betamax, then onto VHS, then digital so the quality isn’t great. When Russell Howard showed it the quality is much higher so I’ve written to the BBC to see if I can have a copy.”
The letter to Savile, who died aged 84 last month, said: “Please could you fix it for me to be a suitcase and go on a luggage conveyor at an airport.”
Taken to Stansted Airport, 11-year-old Mark was zipped into a suitcase carried from a plane to the luggage conveyor and then taken through customs.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here