This is very much a tale of two halves, rather like the legendary matches David Beckham played for clubs and England during his illustrious career as one of the best football players in history.
David Beckham’s father Ted, who married his millionaire solicitor partner Hilary Meredith in an intimate ceremony - with the ex-footballer acting as best man - in December 2021, has just spent the best part of the summer in Mallorca with his wife at their home in Porto Petra.
Hilary Meredith Solicitors is known for securing settlements from the Ministry of Defence and is marking two decades in business this year as she continues to fight for the rights of former and serving members of the British armed forces.
Despite having been at her Mallorca home since the end of June, she has not stopped working on one of her biggest cases and that is over the use of Lariam by the MoD for servicemen and women to fight Malaria on deployment in countries such as Kenya.
Back in 2016, a law firm formally notified the MoD of several claims after being contacted by about 30 serving and former members of the armed forces about the use of Lariam. But as Hilary told the Bulletin, the MoD has done what it does best, take things seriously but drag its feet and do very little. “However, we’ve taken up the case and we’re expecting a hearing and hopefully a conclusion next year.
“The problem is it has very high psychogenic and long-term side effects. It crosses the brain blood threshold, it used to be used by the Americans at Guantanamo Bay as an alternative to water boarding to extract information from the prisoners, that’s how dangerous it is,” she added.
However, in the meantime, Hilary, Ted and her family have been relaxing at their holiday home in Mallorca.
“I’ve owned a property on the island for some 16 years but with the kids we were coming to Mallorca on holiday long before that, we just love the island.
“Last year my daughter Charlotte married Chris Reiman-Jones on the island. We have a real love affair going on with Mallorca, there’s nowhere else we’d rather be and Ted and I try to always come back in January. It’s a great time of year to be on the island and it’s so much quieter, plus most of our favourite restaurants around us are open.
“Apart from the outstanding beauty of this part of Mallorca, it’s got some superb restaurants. But when I first moved down here, all of the menus were in Mallorcan, Castilian Spanish and German, so I had to get working on my Spanish. I can now get by but I must do more to improve my Spanish if and when I’ve got time,” Hillary said.
And Beckham senior is not just passionate about football and Manchester United; he loves all sport. He thoroughly enjoyed the Ashes series but regrets the test which was rained off because he reckons England would have won the Ashes back. And he is equally as passionate about Mallorca.
“I love the island. I know people like the States or Asia and all that, but for me it’s Europe and Mallorca. I guess it’s horses for courses, but this is the island for me,” he told the Bulletin.
David Edward Alan “Ted” Beckham was a footballer. He played semi-professional football and spent a few seasons with Leyton Orient. But undoubtedly his biggest claim to fame is having been the driving force behind David Beckham and now has a grandson, Romeo, following in David’s footsteps.
“Yes, David had all the skills, he showed them at an early age but his big secret to success is that he listens and that’s very important.
“It’s a bit like building a house...”
“It’s a bit like building a house, to build a good one you need solid foundations and I was the foundation for David and then you move on and progress by listening to others. When he moved to Manchester United he was listening to the likes of Nobby Stiles and then of course Alex Ferguson. He was a ruthless manager, but he was a great manager and knew how to get the best out of his players. He knew how to get the most out of players like David, enhance and hone his skills and it paid off. When I look back at the year that United won the treble, for me the best two teams that year were United and Arsenal.
"They both had choice, top-class world players and when they played, you never knew what was going to happen. That was a golden era for the Premier League, both sides had great players all over the pitch and that was David’s best season at United. He was awesome and I don’t think there’ll be another player like David and I’m not saying that because I’m his dad.
“And then of course, he want to Real Madrid. What a side that was. He was playing with the likes of Figo, Roberto Carlos, Casillas, who has to have been the best keeper in the world, and Zidane. What do you say about him? He was just sublime and then later came along Ronaldo just before David left, while Barcelona had the likes of Messi, who is now playing for David in Miami. I used to go and watch every home game in Madrid.
“If I had to choose between Ronaldo or Messi, it’s Messi. He’s magic, pure class, a real hard worker like David was and, which is very important, a team player. Ronaldo is not. He may have scored more goals and all that, but there’s more to football and success than that and Messi’s got it all. He’s only been with David for a few weeks and he’s already scored seven blinding goals and there’s certainly more to come; he’s only just getting started over there. It’s brilliant to watch and we can’t wait to get over as soon as we can. We’ve been over to Miami to watch games before but not with the side David and his team are putting together now. Can’t wait,” Ted said.
And some of those games they watched in Miami feature David’s son Romeo, who has just signed for Brentford.
“Keep an eye on him. He plays a very similar style of football to his dad. He’s very quick, very strong, he positions himself well on the pitch, he hits good crosses and free kicks. We could have another David in the making, it’s lovely to watch him play.
“But one thing I’ve never done is make comparisons between any members of my family. They’ve all got their own skills, attributes and desires. All players are different so let’s see what happens.
“And I’m glad the season’s back up and running. It hurts me to say it but watch Arsenal again and City and Liverpool. I don’t quite know what United will do. We’ve made three to four signings but it’s a long season so let’s wait and see. It was nice to see Guardiola’s face last Sunday when they lost to Arsenal.
“But to be honest, there aren’t the players around today like there were in David’s era and the money being paid is ridiculous. None of these players are worth 100 million pounds, but I guess that’s the way football, the world, is going. But sadly I fear that there is so much money involved it could ruin the game,” Ted said before jetting home to the UK.