In 1985 I was posted to Rosyth Naval Base for a few months, albeit as a civilian. I used to take buses on the weekends to visit various football grounds, to attend Highland Games events and discover a few parts of Scotland. On one particular weekend I arrived in Fort William, the wettest place in the UK, and where it was......raining heavily. Not being well off, I had already espied my sleeping place for the night i.e. a local haystack where there was a load of bubble wrap to keep me warm. However, I found a pub in the town and decided to have a few bevvies before retiring. Although not really a pool player, two of the locals invited me to join them. A portly chap entered the bar and we got chatting, the pool table being next to the bar. He was also duly invited to play and we teamed up against the locals. It dawned on me that it was Ned Beatty, the actor whose face everyone now knows but without necessarily knowing his name. As it must be hugely tiresome being treated like a celeb (although the locals didn't realise who he was) he and I just chatted about everyday things and his life back in Kentucky. Apparently, he was in Scotland to film Restless Natives. Modest chap though. At the end of the evening we said our goodbyes. He returned to some warm hotel after knocking back a few drams and I retired to my haystack.

And before anyone asks...... no, there was no piggy-play as in the film Deliverance that he appeared in.