677 Billy Graham at Aston Villa

First  viewed :  10  August  1984

In  the  summer  of  1984  I  saw  posters  appearing  advertising  the  visit  of  this  guy  to  the  UK. I  had  never  actually  heard  of  him  before - not  too  surprising  as  he  wasn't  going  to  be  trumpeted  in  the  Catholic  education  system -  but  got  to  understand  that  he  was  the  granddaddy  of  US  evangelists  and  therefore  an  important  cultural  figure.

BBC  Two  broadcast  highlights  of  one  of  his  prayer  meetings  at  Villa  Park, Birmingham. I  was  watching  something  else  that  night  but  did  turn  over  to  catch  the  last  few  minutes  out  of  curiosity. Unfortunately,  that  meant  I  didn't  catch  any  of  his  speech  just  the  invitation  to  come  onto  the  pitch  (  this  was  pre-Hillsborough  remember  )  and  declare  faith  in  Jesus  prompting  the  most  well-mannered  pitch  invasion  in  the  ground's  history.

Billy  seems  in  no  hurry  to  actually  meet  his  Maker  and  is  still  alive at  the  time  of  wrting  aged  98.