Letter: Bill Oddie obituary

Tim Sharman writes: Being short and stocky, Bill Oddie undermined many a more sophisticated football player

In the late 1960s a Sunday morning football team known as the West 11 Wanderers turned out for games in Kensington Gardens, in central London. Bill Oddie hurtled around the park like an unguided dodgem car: being short and stocky, he undermined many a more sophisticated player.

Other regulars, all taking the game seriously, included John Cleese, Eric Idle and Marty Feldman. A quite regular aftermath of these matches was a retreat to Eric’s flat, in a square close to Earl’s Court tube station, where a guitar was produced and Eric entertained the small gathering of sweaty sportsmen.