Sharpfokus English
Tuesday October 3
Beckham
1
David Beckham saw his life flash before his eyes recently. He wasn’t sure what to make of it. ‘I needed a second opinion,’ he says, ‘and obviously Victoria and I have been together for 26 years, and I trust her opinion more than anyone else’s…’ And so husband and wife watched it again, together.
2
When they got to the end, they looked at each other in quiet amazement. Beckham felt utterly exhausted. ‘We were like, “Oh my God, we have done a lot.”’
It surprised him, ‘what a roller coaster it was, and it made me feel tired because of everything we’ve done in such a short space of time’. Victoria agreed. It has indeed been busy, she said. But also, in case he’d missed it, ‘We were really cute. We are really cute together.’ Beckham laughs. ‘I think that really comes across.’
3
To be clear, lest the British luxury goods economy fall catatonic at the idea the Beckhams may have flirted with death, they were simply watching an early cut of a new Netflix documentary series, the Ronseal-titled Beckham.
4
Over four parts, it covers just about every aspect of Beckham’s remarkable life, from his birth at Whipps Cross to his vocation, whipping crosses; from Chingford to blinghood; working-class lad to Posh’s man; impressionable youth to middle-aged impresario. I’ve seen two episodes and cannot quibble – he’s done a lot.
5
On a Monday morning in early September, Beckham and I are in the conference room of an office building in central London surrounded by just some of the things he’s done. This is one of several addresses related to his many, many business interests. Downstairs, a squad of fast-talking, hyper-efficient 20-somethings volley logistics at each other across a bank of desks.
6
Their jobs pertain, so far as I can tell, to keeping the Beckham train chugging on productively. (‘OK, well where are we going to buy silver trays for the shoot in Madrid…?’ ‘No, we’ve had to delay that until his hair grows back…’ ‘Where are we at with China?’) Evidently, they are all very good at what they do.
7
The man himself sits at a large table set for a dozen, between two framed monochrome photographs. One depicts his lowest ebb in an England shirt, that red card against Argentina in 1998; the other his ecstatic peak, that free kick against Greece in 2001.
8
His hair today (which is after our photographs were taken) is back to the same short, dark stubble it was for the latter match, 22 years ago, but at 48 it’s beginning to ashen above the ears. ‘I was bored of my hair again, so shaved it off,’ he says, running an inked hand over his crown.
9
He is richly bearded and ever so slightly weathered. In a way, he’s never looked more like his teen idol and predecessor in the Manchester United No 7 shirt, Eric Cantona.
Oatmeal-coloured T-shirt, grey wool trousers, suede desert boots, the only jewellery a wedding ring.
10
Aside from that, to tell you what David Beckham looks like would be like describing Big Ben, or a jar of Marmite. If you’ve been sentient in Britain for at least some of the past three decades, his is a face you probably know as well as your own mother’s, and have been conditioned to consider just as beautiful.
11
‘It’s been a hectic summer,’ he says, sipping water from a Thermos through a straw. He is now back in the family’s west London home for a while, ferrying his 12-year-old daughter Harper (he and Victoria also have three sons; Brooklyn, 24, lives in LA, while Romeo, 21, lives in London and plays for Brentford FC, and Cruz, 18, is making music) to and from school each day, cooking dinner, and following some semblance of a normal routine.
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Questions
Beckham
1
David Beckham saw his life flash before his eyes recently. He wasn’t sure what to make of it. ‘I needed a second opinion,’ he says, ‘and obviously Victoria and I have been together for 26 years, and I trust her opinion more than anyone else’s…’ And so husband and wife watched it again, together.
2
When they got to the end, they looked at each other in quiet amazement. Beckham felt utterly exhausted. ‘We were like, “Oh my God, we have done a lot.”’
It surprised him, ‘what a roller coaster it was, and it made me feel tired because of everything we’ve done in such a short space of time’. Victoria agreed. It has indeed been busy, she said. But also, in case he’d missed it, ‘We were really cute. We are really cute together.’ Beckham laughs. ‘I think that really comes across.’
3
To be clear, lest the British luxury goods economy fall catatonic at the idea the Beckhams may have flirted with death, they were simply watching an early cut of a new Netflix documentary series, the Ronseal-titled Beckham.
4
Over four parts, it covers just about every aspect of Beckham’s remarkable life, from his birth at Whipps Cross to his vocation, whipping crosses; from Chingford to blinghood; working-class lad to Posh’s man; impressionable youth to middle-aged impresario. I’ve seen two episodes and cannot quibble – he’s done a lot.
5
On a Monday morning in early September, Beckham and I are in the conference room of an office building in central London surrounded by just some of the things he’s done. This is one of several addresses related to his many, many business interests. Downstairs, a squad of fast-talking, hyper-efficient 20-somethings volley logistics at each other across a bank of desks.
6
Their jobs pertain, so far as I can tell, to keeping the Beckham train chugging on productively. (‘OK, well where are we going to buy silver trays for the shoot in Madrid…?’ ‘No, we’ve had to delay that until his hair grows back…’ ‘Where are we at with China?’) Evidently, they are all very good at what they do.
7
The man himself sits at a large table set for a dozen, between two framed monochrome photographs. One depicts his lowest ebb in an England shirt, that red card against Argentina in 1998; the other his ecstatic peak, that free kick against Greece in 2001.
8
His hair today (which is after our photographs were taken) is back to the same short, dark stubble it was for the latter match, 22 years ago, but at 48 it’s beginning to ashen above the ears. ‘I was bored of my hair again, so shaved it off,’ he says, running an inked hand over his crown.
9
He is richly bearded and ever so slightly weathered. In a way, he’s never looked more like his teen idol and predecessor in the Manchester United No 7 shirt, Eric Cantona.
Oatmeal-coloured T-shirt, grey wool trousers, suede desert boots, the only jewellery a wedding ring.
10
Aside from that, to tell you what David Beckham looks like would be like describing Big Ben, or a jar of Marmite. If you’ve been sentient in Britain for at least some of the past three decades, his is a face you probably know as well as your own mother’s, and have been conditioned to consider just as beautiful.
11
‘It’s been a hectic summer,’ he says, sipping water from a Thermos through a straw. He is now back in the family’s west London home for a while, ferrying his 12-year-old daughter Harper (he and Victoria also have three sons; Brooklyn, 24, lives in LA, while Romeo, 21, lives in London and plays for Brentford FC, and Cruz, 18, is making music) to and from school each day, cooking dinner, and following some semblance of a normal routine.
—-
Questions
- Your life flashes before your?
- Very tired?
- So it doesn’t happen?
- Someone who organizes events?
- To kick the ball in the air?
- Another way to say connected with?
- Worst moment?
- Another word for gray?
- Turn weather into an adjective?
- Something which is alive?