Being small of stature, Derek Malcolm started his sporting life at Eton – a college he hated – as a cox on the river, an exercise that he additionally hated. However he quickly escaped being a “Moist-Bob” when his coach instructed him to only maintain the crew collectively, including: “Don’t fear if I fall off my bike as a result of they’re so sluggish that I’ll quickly catch up.” Derek and the stroke man set a towpath entice that parted coach from bike, and the crew stormed away of their finest ever row. Derek received the blame and was punished by dispatch to taking part in squash as a “Dry-Bob”.
His early profession as a jockey continued because the Guardian’s workplace bookie. He as soon as primarily based his ideas for the Grand Nationwide runners on character assassinations of senior editorial workers.
Throughout a interval when his difficult non-public life concerned a small-time gangster, his entry within the card index of workers contacts learn: “Lord Malcolm of Calcutta. To not be given out below any circumstances.”
