BAKING BAD
Darcy’s kitchen nightmare after midweek media slip
DOZY Darcy Graham had to spend most of his spare time in the kitchen this week baking treats for his team-mates.
The fleet-footed Edinburgh winger is being punished for forgetting about his media duties on Tuesday.
The 24-year-old was supposed to be staying late to help preview tomorrow evening’s home clash against the Stormers but made a sharp exit after training.
As a result, head coach Mike Blair ordered him to make amends by providing the rest of the squad with tasty posttraining snacks.
Gunners star Graham said: “I had a nightmare.
“I got fined for it and have to bring everybody traybakes for the end of the week. That is my punishment. I’ve 50 boys to bake for now!”
His diary management may not be the best but Graham has been as sharp as a tack on the field this season.
He came off his wing to score two tries in the United Rugby Championship opening weekend home win over the Scarlets.
And after a frustrating loss to Benetton he is looking forward to getting back out in front of a home support to take on the South African outfit. He said: “I’m buzzing for it. When we played the first game at home against the Scarlets, the place was absolutely bouncing.
“The fans really helped us to that win and no doubt if we’d had them over in Treviso too, we’d have got our win there.
“I always thought I never noticed the crowds but when they were not there because of Covid, I did not like it at all.
“Having them back has given me so much more energy.
“I also had a good pre-season, so I feel really sharp and just want to play as many games as I can now.”
I knew my brother wasn’t well when he wouldn’t leave dark room to see me run out at Parkhead but I didn’t want anyone to know...
chosen to speak up, he has also done a mental health course through the Chris Mitchell Foundation, set up to raise awareness following the tragic death of the former Falkirk and Clyde player, aged 27.
Also now manager of Partick Thistle Women, he has made it his mission to be better placed should one of his players one day confide in him that they’re struggling.
“This is a great campaign trying to do it and I really hope there is change with this,” the striker added of FC United.
“But one of the biggest problems is there’s not enough carers for this, there are not enough bodies to look after the poor souls who are struggling.
“And that is one of the biggest criteria where they probably try to change beds, try to get them out as quickly as possible to get the next one in – and that is not how it should be.
“These cases aren’t going to go away overnight, they need care on a daily basis, they probably need a phone call every second day to check in on them.
“I don’t think things like that are getting done.
“Some people will say ‘Oh, he took drugs’ but I believe he took drugs because of the demons in his head. It will go down as an overdose but I believe he died by suicide.
“The time he was in that hospital, the day before he died, I know he was a bit hard work then because I had seen him.
“He was a bit cheeky to me that day and he was a bit cheeky to the nurses and doctors, which I get – he wasn’t mentally right.
“But these people are probably dealing with this daily and don’t probably know how to deal with them. They were happy just to get rid of him, to say I don’t want to put up with this carry-on any more.
“It is weird because a short period after he died I had a dream and he was in it.
“It was him apologising to me, saying sorry and the two of us were crying in the dream.
“I woke up in the middle of the night, I was in floods of tears and like ‘Was that real?’.
“It was as if he was coming back to say, ‘I’m sorry for my behaviour’.
“It was as if we made up in that dream.”