Who’s that acting with Meg Ryan? Oh, must be Geoff Bray!

EVERY now and then, whenever he felt the need to enlighten a dull moment, Geoff Bray would slip the name of an American glamour puss into the conversation and tell a tall story.

“You do know, don’t you, that I once acted in a film with Meg Ryan,’’ he would say before sitting back to let the waves of surprise wash over him. “Absolutely true. We were in it together.’’

For dramatic effect he could have added that the movie in question, Restoration, a historical drama set during the Great Plague of London, had a budget of some £10m. As his daughter Julia told mourners at her dad’s funeral in Cardiff last Monday: “When I say he acted with Meg Ryan, I use the word in the loosest possible sense.

“When Dad retired he signed up for one of those agencies that specialise in supplying extras for the film industry. The part that he got in Restoration did not require an audition. All he had to do was lie down and keep perfectly still, a body in a pit.’’

Nobody would laugh at the absurdity of it more than Geoff himself, a little light relief from the occasionally tricky business of ensuring that the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame steered a safe course since its inception almost 40 years ago.

As its honorary secretary for most of that time, Geoff made light of onerous responsibility, his boundless generosity of spirit ensuring a recognition for excellence across the broad expanse of the sporting spectrum. No task was ever too much trouble and nothing ever disturbed his innate sense of fun.

A widower, he died last month at the age of 84, leaving two daughters (Julia and Jo), two granddaughters (Eleanor and Anna) and a grandson, Alex.